Importance of SEO Friendly URLs
-
Hey SEOZ!
How important do you all think SEO friendly URLs are to SEO. Here is an example:
Non: http://www.domain.com/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=2964
Friendly: http://www.domain.com/product_name_here.html
I have always heard mixed reviews but did an experiment comparing results on the same domain and actually noticed quite a difference with the friendly ones.
Thanks!
-
Matt - Thanks for the valuable information. I will be sure to keep that in mind as I make the switch.
Thanks!
-
Thanks for the resonse Ryan! I did not give much thought to either of your points as I Was focusing on rankings. Thanks for the great info!
-
Use friendly URLs. Do NOT use underscores. They are looked at as characters, not spaces. Here is Matt Cutts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3SFVfDIS5k
-
Clearly the friendly URL has the advantage. URLs are not a large ranking factor in and of themselves, but there are two additional effects to consider:
1. Friendly URLs affect CTR. Many users will examine a URL when deciding whether to click through or not.
2. Friendly URLs improve anchor text link juice flow. If your page URL is /watches then any links where the referring site simply copies your URL will have your product name (watches) in the URL.
-
I think the importance is very slowly diminishing (but will never really go away). However, I believe it is necessary when you are in a competitive vertical with exact matched domains. That way you can perfect the rest of the on-page parameters, and still not come up short because of an exact matched domain.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
SEO Title Length
Hi Everyone. I have a few pages being flagged with "Title Too Long". However, these are page 2, page 3, page 4, etc of category pages. They obviously have "| Page x of x" at the end of the title. Can these be ignored or is there a more SEO friendly way of handling this issue? Thanks. Michael
Technical SEO | | nomad_blogger0 -
Is this type of navigation SEO friendly?
Hi mozzers, I wanted to know if this type of navigation SEO friendly. Is it better than the regular drop down menu navigation? Thanks! Ug4MhZw.png
Technical SEO | | Ideas-Money-Art0 -
Friendly URL
Can be Friendly URL installed on a custom made jobsite using mod rewrite / apache without any big interference to the system itself? Thank you.
Technical SEO | | tomaz770 -
Off-page SEO and on-page SEO improvements
I would like to know what off-page SEO and on-page SEO improvements can be made to one of our client websites http://www.nd-center.com Best regards,
Technical SEO | | fkdpl2420 -
Does Bitly hurt your SEO?
I often use bit.ly or Google URL shortener in links when other websites post my articles so I can track clicks. However, I am thinking this may HURT my SEO given that it is taking away a back link to my website. Is that logic correct ? If so, what is a good way to be able to track clicks if a website posts your article without jeopardizing the SEO value?
Technical SEO | | StreetwiseReports1 -
Keyword and URL
I have a client who has a popular name (like 'Joe Smith'). His blog URL has only his first name and the name of his company in it, like joe.company.com. His blog doesn't rank well at all in the first 3-4 Google SERPs. I was thinking of advising him to change the URL of his blog to joesmith.company.com, and having his webmaster do 301 redirects from the old URL to the new one. Do you think this is a good strategy, or would you recommend something else? I realize ranking isn't just about the URL, it's about links, etc. But I think making his URL more specific to his name could help. Any advice greatly appreciated! Jim
Technical SEO | | JamesAMartin0 -
Drupal URL Aliases vs 301 Redirects + Do URL Aliases create duplicates?
Hi all! I have just begun work on a Drupal site which heavily uses the URL Aliases feature. I fear that it is creating duplicate links. For example:: we have http://www.URL.com/index.php and http://www.URL.com/ In addition we are about to switch a lot of links and want to keep the search engine benefit. Am I right in thinking URL aliases change the URL, while leaving the old URL live and without creating search engine friendly redirects such as 301s? Thanks for any help! Christian
Technical SEO | | ChristianMKTG0